New Arrests of Jews Reported from Moscow; Termed Pro-israel

November 4, 1955

BERLIN (Nov. 3)

Reports reaching here today from Moscow reveal that the Soviet authorities have started a new campaign against Zionism and arrested at least 11 Jews in the Soviet capital on suspicion of sympathies with Israel.

The report said that arrests were made by police searching Jewish homes for Zionist and Israel literature. It is not known, the report added, whether such searches were carried out also in other parts of the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the official government newspaper “Izvestia” appeared today with an article telling the Western Powers to mind their own business about the arming of Egypt by Communist countries. The paper accused the Allies of provoking armed conflicts between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries. The article was one of the sharpest directed against the Western Powers since the birth of the “Geneva Spirit.”

At the same time, the Moscow radio announced that the Israel Embassy in Moscow had signed a contract for the purchase of 350,000 to 400,000 tons of Soviet crude oil and fuel oil, while the Soviet Government had contracted to buy 15,000 tons of Israel citrus fruits.